The Huntsman of Renton
by Cody Sherer
Summary: A young huntsman finds himself in the midst of something much larger than he ever imagined. Follow the adventures of Colin as he seeks to preserve the small town of Renton.


Colin nocked an arrow as he crept through the forest. His long blond hair fell into his eyes, but didn't stop him from spotting the deer. Careful not to disturb the majestic creature, he stopped and waited for a moment. The deer looked about, as if spooked by something. A distant howl sounded, followed by a handful more. _Wolves!_ Colin thought as he started backpedalling. The castle was a good way away and he had to decide between hiding and running back to the castle. His instincts kicked in as he spied a large bush to his left. He dove inside the bush and waited patiently.

The crunch of twigs under heavy boots alerted him to another presence. Several more sets of boots could be heard tromping through the forest as well. Colin could tell by their black insignia that they were the Wolf's men. He did his best to get a better view of them, but they left before he could see any of their faces. His mind was racing as he stayed in the bushes, not sure of what to do next. He waited until he heard the nearby wildlife stirring before he exited the bushes.

His hands were shaking as he ran back to the town of Renton. It was one of the smaller towns in the county and far from heavily protected. Any sign of the Wolf's men near Renton was a bad, though Colin could scarcely know how bad. The worst the town had seen was an attack from the Rat's estranged cousin, the Mouse. It was such a pathetic showing that they didn't even need to call upon Sir Allen for reinforcements.

"We've got a problem!" Colin yelled as he ran into the town square.

"Not now, boy. There are visitors from another county here," Abbot Timothy replied, shooting the young man an annoyed glance.

Colin shut his mouth when he saw a large man standing in the middle of the square. He had heard tales of the Pig and this man could easily pass off as the description from those stories. The only differences that Colin could see were that this man was significantly taller than the man known as the Pig and that he carried himself with much better composure. He introduced himself to the crowd as Lord Cargill. The crowd seemed to be taken in by the newcomer and Colin had forgotten he was even going to warn them about the Wolf's troops.

"People of Renton, it is my honor to be your guest until Sir Allen arrives for our meeting. The two of us shall be discussing the future of your peaceful village and the county in which it resides. I cannot say anything more until Sir Allen arrives," Cargill spoke in a manner that made the audience feel as if he had been their Lord for as long as they could remember.

"In the meantime, Lord Cargill would like to rest. He is weary from his long journey. I have offered the abbey and its staff to see to his needs until Sir Allen arrives. If any of you have need of him, you can make the request to me," Abbot Timothy addressed the crowd before leading Cargill to the abbey.

Colin felt uneasy after witnessing the exchange. First the appearance of the Wolf's troops in the forest and then the arrival of a foreign Lord, things were looking to get interesting in Renton. The young hunter scanned the crowd to see their reactions. Samuel, the blacksmith, was one of the few that seemed to agree with the hunter. He and Phillip, the fletcher, were discussing something on their way back to their shops and Colin decided to follow.

"I don't like the look of him," Samuel said.

"Nor do I," Phillip replied.

"Reminds me of the Pig. Nasty one he was."

"Aye, but they said he was jailed and executed years ago."

"Could be a relative or a coincidence, either way, I don't like the look of him."

The two parted ways when they arrived at their shops, leaving Colin to decide whom to talk to first. His first reaction was to approach Phillip, as he was closer in age, but in the end he decided to go with Samuel first. He stepped into the blacksmith's workshop and watched while Samuel went about his business. The blacksmith was easily the strongest man in town. He was taller than the six foot tall Colin by a few inches and significantly broader. His muscles were toned from years of work as a blacksmith. In times of trouble, he was one of the first ones the town approached for assistance.

"Didn't see you come in, lad. What can I do for you?" Samuel asked when he spotted Colin.

"I just didn't know who else to come to. First the men in the forest, now this Lord Cargill. Something isn't right, Samuel," Colin replied.

"Hold up, lad. What men in the forest?"

"There was a handful of brigands in the forest. They wore the Wolf's colors, I know it sounds crazy, but it is true."

"The Wolf? Wasn't he executed along with the other three?" Samuel asked, lightly pulling at his beard.

"There was a rumor that the Snake survived, what if the Wolf did as well?"

"I don't suppose it matters if it is the Wolf or just some impostor. Keep your eyes out for more of them. Be careful though. Some of the fellows and I meet up once a week, you should come."

The woods were unusually quiet that day. Colin made his way through the undergrowth, careful not to frighten any animals. It had been nearly a week since Lord Cargill had arrived. Since his arrival, the forest had gotten less fruitful. If Colin didn't know any better, he'd have thought the woods themselves were against Cargill. There had been no sign of Sir Allen and the town was starting to get uneasy. The food supply was running short and the young huntsman had been unsuccessful at bolstering their stores. Only a handful of villagers had noticed that the lack of food coincided with the arrival of the foreign Lord.

Colin gave up the search after several more minutes. It would be difficult to return to town without food, but he had no choice. He made his way back to town and found a small group of villagers gathered at the village square. They were arguing about the lack of food and what their options were for acquiring more. It had been over a month since the last merchant had visited and the mill was in disrepair. They had come to rely on Colin's hunting and the apple orchards for their food.

"What about the apples?" Colin asked as he approached the group.

"Lord Cargill has taken control of the orchards and is using the food for his men. We tried to reason with him, but the man won't listen," Adele, one of the baker's daughters said.

"Hold a moment, lass. There is no need to put yourself in danger by accusing the man of such. Leave that to us elders. The council of elders will approach him with the request. He will need to recognize our authority in Sir Allen's absence," Samuel said.

"I don't like this one bit. We never should have let him stay here in the first place. This needs to be brought up with Abbot Timothy as soon as we get the chance," George, Adele's father, said.

The hunter listened for a few more minutes before giving up on the council of elders. They always discussed things at length and rarely acted up on their discussions. His father had been a member of the council before going to war with the Wolf and his lackeys. The once flourishing town of more than hundred had been drained to almost fifty. They had spent the last several years trying to return to their former glory, but things had never quite been the same. Colin often wondered how things would have been had his father not gone to war.

He sat down outside the nearest apple orchard and watched Cargill's men harvesting the fruit. They were arguing about who had to get more apples. The huntsman shook his head as he watched them throw apples at each other. He nearly said something, but decided against it. Both men had maces hanging from their belts and his only weapon was his bow. He made a mental note to ask some of the townsfolk to teach him how to use a sword as he slumped back against the fence.

"I've seen quite enough," Samuel called out to the two harvesters.

"What's it to you?" One of them asked.

"Our people are starving and you are wasting food!" The blacksmith yelled as he pulled out his axe.

He stepped forward, brandishing his two bladed axe. Each of the blades curved up into a point, allowing the wielder to swing or stab with the axe. The two men pulled out their maces and ran toward the blacksmith. Samuel continued forward, raising his axe above his head. As the first of the two macemen came into range, he swung the axe down in a diagonal motion toward the man's torso. The maceman was too slow to react and the axe took him in the side, slicing through his armor and leaving a massive gash.

Samuel hefted the axe back out of the man's side and back over his shoulder. He thrust the shaft of the axe into the second man's face, breaking his nose. Blood streamed down the maceman's face as he swung his mace at the blacksmith. Samuel dodged to the side and swung his axe at the man as if he were chopping at a tree. The axe connected and dug deep into the man's torso. Having felled the two opponents, Samuel yanked the axe out of the second victim and hooked it back onto his belt.

"What have you done?" Abbot Timothy asked as he come running out to the orchard.

"I did what had to be done, Abbot. These men were wasting precious food. The people are starving!" Samuel yelled.

"No need to raise your voice, friend. You shouldn't have resorted to violence. Lord Cargill will not be happy. Not in the least. We'll need to find him a replacement for these two men. This isn't good at all."

"Timothy, open your eyes. Cargill is using us!"

The Abbot shook his head vehemently. Whatever Lord Cargill had told him, it had worked to convince the man of his status. Samuel and Timothy stood staring at one another for a few minutes, neither one wanting to stand down. Lord Cargill and a handful of his men arrived on the scene. The Lord seemed rather upset that his men had been killed, but he did a good job of hiding how much it affected him. Colin wondered if he had faced death on a regular basis.

"This isn't good. Who is responsible for this?" Cargill asked.

"I am," Samuel stepped forward.

"I see. We have little choice in the matter. This man must be put to the death."

"Over my dead body!" Phillip yelled as he stepped up next to Samuel.

"Mine as well," Colin said as he joined the two.

"You seem to have quite a following, murderer," Cargill said, half mocking the blacksmith.

"Sir Allen will decide his fate," Serdan, the eldest of the council, said.

"Very well, we shall give Sir Allen three days to get here. If he fails to arrive, I will personally execute this man."

The two days were excruciatingly slow for Colin. His hunts had turned out to be little more than a waste of time and any time he spent scouting for Sir Allen was equally without positive results. It was late in the second day and there was no dinner for Colin to return to so he stayed in the forest a bit later. He sat down on a stump and watched as a rabbit darted through the underbrush. Part of him wanted to shoot it for food, but it almost seemed a waste of an arrow. He looked down at the hunting bow on his lap, wishing it were a longbow.

If he were a more skilled archer with a better weapon, then he would have a chance of freeing Samuel. As it was, any attempt to free the man would land Colin in the same trouble. He thought of the other villagers, trying to remember which of them had experience in combat. Phillip often carried a sword and had been trained as a swordsman when he was younger. The fletcher's brother, Arthur, was a skilled marksman and the reason that Phillip had become a fletcher. None of the others had ever professed to be good at anything combat related, but Colin suspected at least one of them would have some skill.

As he sat on the stump, Colin examined the nearby trees. They seemed in worse shape than the norm. He examined them closer and almost immediately recognized the tree fungus. It has been years since the town had last been hit with such a plague, but the young huntsman still remembered it well. Their wood supply was affected for nearly three years after. It made for horrible timing that Renton, brimming with potential after years of neglect, would face such hard times. Colin took up his bow and placed on his back before heading back to town.

The sun dipped under the horizon as he arrived back in town. Most of the villagers had retired to their homes, but a few were still wandering the streets. Colin wondered if any of them cared about Samuel's fate. They all seemed to be too preoccupied with their own lives to care about anything else. He stopped at the woodcutter's hut to see if Frederick was still there. Much to his surprise, Frederick was in a heated discussion with Phillip. The young huntsman cleared his throat to alert them to his presence.

"Ah, Colin, what can I do for you?" The woodcutter asked.

"There are signs of tree fungus in the forest." Colin replied.

"I think we have slightly more pressing matters to attend to."

"The boy should not be involved," Phillip cut in.

"He doesn't have much choice. Cargill knows he witnessed the whole thing. You honestly think that he will leave a witness to tell someone like Sir Allen?" Frederick asked.

"Good point," Phillip nodded in frustration before turning toward Colin. "You better know how to use that bow of yours."

Colin nodded and followed the others as they headed for the abbey where Cargill had Samuel jailed. They found Arthur already waiting for them outside the abbey grounds. He led them closer to the abbey and pointed to the small shack outside of the main building. There were at least ten macemen standing guard outside the shack. Even before Arthur told them, Colin could tell that this is where they were keeping Samuel. It seemed that the small size of the village was in their favor this time, as there was no real jail to hold the blacksmith.

Arthur nocked a bow and nodded for Colin to do the same. They were to wait as Phillip and Frederick snuck up on the unsuspecting guards. Once their companions were within twenty feet of their targets, Colin and Arthur let loose their first arrows. Both arrows struck their intended targets, but Arthur's was much more successful. They nocked arrows and fired again before putting away their bows. Once again, Arthur managed to kill while Colin only managed to wound. However, the other two now face six healthy guards and two wounded guards instead of ten healthy guards.

The two archers watched as Phillip unsheathed his sword and dispatched the nearest of the macemen. Frederick acted just as quickly, felling another guard with his pike. As the macemen pulled together to stop the ambush, the woodcutter flipped his pike around and smacked two of them in the shins. He then grabbed hold with his free hand and shoved the middle of the wooden shaft into the face of another assailant. Phillip dodged to the side and hamstrung an opponent before turning to face the three remaining uninjured maceman.

Frederick joined the fletcher as he unleashed his first round of attacked. Two of the macemen were able to dodge the oncoming attacks, but the third was killed by a sword to the gut. The woodcutter spun and thrust his pike into the chest of one of the injured macemen that was coming to join the battle. Phillip had taken down another of the opponents with a slice to the neck. Colin and Arthur arrived to find that the other two had finished off the remaining macemen.

"Good work, lads!" Samuel called out from inside the wooden shack.

"Quickly now, get him free," Arthur called out as the four approached the makeshift prison.

Phillip placed his sword against the side of the building and helped others break the flimsy lock. Colin waited outside while the other three went in to free the blacksmith. He heard a door swing open behind him and turned to see Lord Cargill exiting the abbey. The man had an evil grin on his face as he shoved the huntsman aside and closed the door to the shack. He fastened a chain around it before turning to face Colin.

"So springs the trap, boy. I quickly learned that people judged me based on my appearance. My late cousin was an oaf, but I am much smarter. Now the last choice lies with you," Cargill announced as he gripped the mace at his belt.

"What choice is that?" Colin asked as he inched toward Phillip's sword.

"You can face the same fate as those fools or you can run away, never to be heard from again."


End file.
